


Your Pain on My Skin

by GinnyRose



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But he doesn't mean to be, Canon-Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Humor, Law is Going to Slap Somebody, Law is Ride or Die, Luffy Is a Little Shit, Luffy is Ride or Die, M/M, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Sharing Pain, The Hearts Pirates, Tired Trafalgar D. Water Law, Trafalgar Law-centric, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyRose/pseuds/GinnyRose
Summary: In a world where you share your pain with your soulmate, Law had spent many years believing his soulmate probably hated him. And he wouldn't have blamed them – Law had been sick, beaten, shot at and had gone through hell not just once, but several times from when he’d lost his family to when he lost Corazon and in the struggling years after that. But now, at 24 years old, he knew better.Not only did his soulmate hate him, they were bound and determined to pay back every scrape, bruise, and cut ten times over. When Law finally found the bastard, soulmate or not, he just might kill them himself.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 14
Kudos: 972





	Your Pain on My Skin

There was a time, not that long ago, when Law rarely felt more than a few twinges of pain from his soulmate. He was sure, in a logical sort of way, that there had probably been many childhood scrapes and bruises that had been lost in Law’s own pain. And there had been a few worrying incidents when he was fourteen – the sharp sting of a blade slicing into his cheek, the bone-crushing weight of water in his lungs, and then, a few months later, an excruciating, stabbing pain all over his body that felt scarily like being beaten with spikes. But after that, his soulmate had seemed to calm down. There were a few more scrapes and cuts over the years but never any bruises or anything much worse.

It had made Law feel almost guilty, in the rare times that he allowed himself to think about it, the pain he must have put his soulmate through over the years. Law had barely survived his fight with Amber Lead and Doflamingo and he could only imagine how much worse it would have been to wake up with all that pain and no idea where it came from.

Or at least, it _had_ almost made him feel guilty. Back when he thought his soulmate was a normal person somewhere in one of the Blues, just living their life and unfairly stuck with the mess that was Trafalgar D. Law. That all changed just a few months ago, not long after Law had finally returned to the open seas as the Captain of the Hearts Pirates. When his soulmate proved themselves to either be a reckless idiot or a particularly vindictive bastard looking to pay Law back for a shitty childhood.

It had not started in any significant way – a few more painful twinges in the morning. Then there were some mysterious cuts that hadn’t come from his own fights. Just enough pain that he found himself thinking about his soulmate, but not nearly enough to take him away from his own work.

Until, however, Law had doubled over in the middle of a strategic meeting feeling like his legs had been smashed through concrete. Before he’d even been given a moment to wonder what the _fuck_ had happened, the crushing weight of the ocean was in his lungs and Shachi and Penguin were at his side, trying to figure out what was happening. The ocean had lifted after only a few minutes and the crushing of his legs not much after but that was when all hell broke loose. His shoulder suddenly felt like a shark had taken a chunk out of it, cuts opened all over his body, bones felt like they had been snapped.

In short, it was a brutal, hellish battle that Law had been absolutely no part of but still felt throughout his entire body. It was a battle that could easily have killed someone but his soulmate had lived. Law had hoped at the time, forcing himself upright onto slightly shaky feet and leveling a stare at his crew until they got back to work, that his soulmate had gotten their fill of dangerous, near-death experiments and would go back to peaceful living. After all, it was evidently clear given the pain radiating from Law’s body, they weren’t very good at fighting.

There are rare times that Law would admit to being wrong, but he had been wrong then. Because his soulmate didn’t stop. The pain had faded quickly – at least, they apparently had some sort of healing factor to make up for their shitty fighting skills – but then, just a few days later, Law was woken up by unfamiliar pain. He had been dealing with some mild blows and cuts, nothing that would have even caused him to blink, let alone wake from a rare and much needed rest, but this was something else. His hands and feet were screaming in pain, an unceasing burning that Law recognized nearly instantly as the symptoms of moderate to severe frostbite. He let out a slew of creative language but before he could even stand up away from Bepo to go find some pain medicine for his hands, the pain faded somewhat to a dull roar, meaning that his soulmate had been treated. Law let himself fall back onto Bepo and managed to fall back into an uneasy sleep with the restful thoughts of slapping his soulmate silly the first time they met.

The next time his soulmate got seriously injured, Law himself had just finished off a fight with the marines. And wasn’t that a good sight to show the survivors left on the Marine ship– the Captain of the Hearts pirates suddenly doubled over, clutching his side as his crewmates rushed to push him down the hatch of their submarine. But Law couldn’t give half a shit about his reputation right then, not when it felt like he had been pierced through by a goddamn _hook_. And certainly not when it felt like all the liquid had been _drained_ from his body. That had been the first fight his soulmate had gotten into that Law had thought his soulmate better die before Law met them.

It had very well not been the last.

By the time Law had recovered from the feeling of being _frozen solid,_ he was ready to slice his soulmate in two, his own pain be damned.

Unfortunately for Law, his crewmates had quickly taken to scouring the pages of the newspaper for any hint as to who his soulmate was. They had to be a pirate, they had all decided not long after the impaling incident, and it didn’t take long for his crew to start placing bets on which of the Worst Generation was destined to be with their captain.

Law privately hoped that the Universe wasn’t too cruel as to set him up with the likes of someone like _Eustass Kid_ but outwardly made no indication that he was even interested in his crewmates’ shenanigans. He had important goals, after all, and not even his idiotic soulmate would get in the way of them.

Had Law truly known what the Universe had come up with, he would have begged to have Kid as a soulmate. The man was a cruel bastard, but at least he had some modicum of _sense_. But the Universe was a cold, mischievous bitch that absolutely _hated_ Law.

Because why else would he be standing in the mess room of the Submarine, grimacing with every mild bump of the waves below him and feeling as though he had gone more than a few rounds with an opponent and unsure if he had come out on top, when Penguin came sprinting in from the hatch above, shouting and waving the newspaper in his hands. And why else, when Law finally managed to force himself through the crew, hissing and cursing under his breath because each of his limbs felt like someone had pulled them, twisted them out of shape, and then forced them back into place, would there be such an outrageous headline as “Strawhat Pirates Declare War on World Government” emblazoned above an equally audacious image of the small Strawhat Crew lined up along the roof of a Marine Headquarters building. The photograph had been taken from behind but there was no mistaking the infamous straw hat of the captain – nor was there any mistaking the World Government Flag, blazing fiercely and already half burned up, on the other side of them.

“No.” Law said, his voice surprisingly calm as he took in the picture. This was nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. “No. Absolutely not. There is no way in goddamn _fucking_ hell.” He wouldn’t accept this. There was no way that he was going to be saddled with anyone from the most reckless, idiotic, heedless crew to ever sail the seas. He wouldn’t accept it.

“They took out the entire CP9 single-handedly.” Penguin, apparently bent on ignoring his Captain’s words, spread open the newspaper as the crew hastily gathered around to soak in the latest of the Strawhat crew’s bullshit. “And practically razed Enies Lobby to the ground. Apparently Strawhat Luffy himself ordered his sniper to shoot the flag.” There was undisguised awe in his voice. The Strawhats may have been a rival crew, but there was hardly a pirate worth their name that didn’t feel a tiny bit of respect for the small but destructive crew.

“Why?” Shachi demanded, pulling the article his way.

"Does he need a reason? He’s fucking insane!” That was Ikkaku responding, her voice equal parts disapproval and disbelief.

“No, no. He’s got a reason. It says here,” Penguin pointed a hand to a small paragraph underneath the massive picture. “The government had apprehended Nico Robin, “The Devil Child”, and was taking her through the Gates of Justice. She was one of the names uncovered when Crocodile went down - Strawhat must have taken her on his crew after and didn’t much like the Government taking her.”

“He brought the entire Marine Headquarters down to its knees for a _single_ crewmate?” Shachi said and there was no mistaking the grudging awe in his voice. Even Law, who made a point of hating all his opponents in nearly equal measure, couldn’t help but feel his respect of the reckless captain go up. Enies Lobby was supposed to be impenetrable but Strawhat Luffy hadn’t even hesitated when they tried to take one of his crewmates away. As any good captain was, Law was prepared and willing to die for his crewmates and they him but there was something about the sheer give-no-fucks-and-take-no-prisoners-audacity of the younger captain and his crew that was theirs alone. To barrel on to one of the most secured places in the entire Grand Line and raze it to the ground without hesitation was not something most crews would do willingly and that was an admirable amount of loyalty.

Not that it mattered too much to Law. Loyal though they all were, he absolutely refused to accept a soulmate from that reckless, idiotic crew. It was a purely professional respect Law felt for that crew and he would not hesitate to slice Kikoku through any of them if it came down to that.

“Get back to your stations,” he told his crew, reaching out to fold over the newspaper. The small crew was interesting, but they had work to do.

Perhaps sensing that Law was not in the mood to be tested – which was perfectly true as the beating his soulmate’s body took had left Law struggling to get even the little amount he needed to function without murdering someone – his crew sprang back into action without another word. Shachi and Penguin shot him a few looks over their shoulders but Law mercifully decided to ignore them, for their sakes.

And if any of the crew notice their captain shuffle through the newspaper to extract the updated bounties for the Strawhat Pirates and silently pocket them for later viewing, they also wisely kept quiet.

It took a few days for the pain to fade from Law’s body and interest about his soulmate amongst the crew faded with it. It was still shimmering underneath the surface – Law knew for a fact that Bepo was collecting money for bets on whether or not it was a Strawhat pirate while Shachi was currently heading the betting pool on _which_ Strawhat it was. Most seemed to favor the taciturn and violent “Pirate-Hunter” while others thought that the mysterious and older Nico Robin was more Law’s type. Law never publicly acknowledged that he knew of the bets, of course – doing so would only encourage them – but he was privately pleased that no one seemed to think he and the Strawhat captain would make a good pair. He would hate to have anyone idiotic enough to think him and the other captain together would be anything short of an explosive and undoubtedly violent disaster.

As they came closer to Sabaody – and the New World where Law’s revenge oh so thoughtfully waited for him – the waters became more fraught. Other pirate crews manned by lesser captains who hadn’t yet made it into the Supernovas but still wanted to make a name for themselves began to pop up out of the sea. They were nothing more than pests, really, but a few had gotten a few good hits in and one had even drummed up enough of a ruckus that they alerted a Marine ship also on its way to the archipelago.

Dealing with them all had left Law and his crew with a few minor bruises and scrapes but nothing truly concerning – which is why he cursed audibly and creatively when his body was – yet a-fucking-gain – overcome with sudden spasms of pain as though he was getting pummeled by a massive fist.

His crew, now far less alarmed by Law’s soulmate-induced pain, went about cleaning up the blood from their latest battle, leaving Bepo alone to offer Law some pain medicine and his sympathies. Law shrugged off the medicine – pain medication made his mind fuzzy and he wasn’t about to start taking it every time his idiot soulmate got into a fight and end up in a semi-permanent high. Besides, Law had good practice working through extreme pain from his horrendous childhood and now that the surprise of his soulmate’s pain had worn off, he was quite adept at handling himself through it.

Especially when all the pain seemed to magically disappear not long after it had crested. Law was used to his soulmate’s pain never lasting as long as it should – it was just the illogical cherry on top of the ridiculousness that was his soulmate – but even this seemed excessively quick. But he wasn’t going to question it too much. If the Universe was going to saddle him with some idiot who got the shit beat out of them on the regular, it seemed right to make it so they at least bounced back quickly.

They kept an eye out on the newspaper over the next few days and Law was smug at his crew’s collective disappointment when the faces of the Strawhat pirates were nowhere to be found. He knew there was no way his supposed second half was part of that crew and now he could go back to either not thinking about his soulmate or plotting their demise without worry.

Or at least, that’s what he thought he’d be able to do as his crew docked at Sabaody, careful to keep to the more lawless sections of the archipelago and he left in search of someone to coat their submarine. It’s what he had thought when he’d heard and then summarily dismissed the fact that the other Supernovas had arrived at the same time as his own crew. It would be interesting if he met any of them, but he wasn’t about to go out of his way to do so. There would be plenty of time to meet up with them in the new world after all, at a much safer distance away from the Marine Headquarters.

It’s what he had thought when he’d decided to check out the slave Auction House that Doflamingo owned with Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin.

It’s what he had thought when he lounged on a bench in the auction house, long limbs spread in casual dismissal of the unsavory going-ons all around him.

It’s what he had been thinking when he caught sight of and immediately flipped off Eustass Kid.

It had been in the back of his mind when he caught sight of Strawhat Luffy barreling into the Auction House, smaller than he had expected but absolutely brimming with heedless anger and a reckless, destructive sort of energy and he had thought “so this is Strawhat-ya.”

It had, however, been completely thrown from his mind when he watched Strawhat race down the center aisle of the Auction House, absolutely oblivious to the chaos his appearance had set off, and _punch_ a Celestial Dragon in the fucking _face._ Not just because hitting a Celestial Dragon was an instantaneous death warrant and the idiot was about to have the entirety of the Marines Headquarters bearing down on the Auction House but because Law could _feel it too._ He felt the sting of a good, solid punch tingling on his knuckles where DEATH had been needled into his skin. Felt it but couldn’t quite believe it.

This boy – and really, there had been so many news reports about the audacious, dauntless misdeeds of the Strawhat Pirates and _none_ of them had deemed it important to mention that Strawhat was so young, at least several years younger than Law – this boy who seemed to be made entirely of long limbs, straw hat, and righteous fury, this boy who stood in the center of the room, uncaring and unrepentant as the chaos he caused ruptured all around him. This boy who looked like he was ready and willing to tear down the Auction House piece by piece with his own two hands just because he could, this boy who was proving yet _again_ that he would raze Heaven to the ground and conquer the entirety of Hell for the sake of a friend. This boy was the one who had sent pain cascading through Law’s body repeatedly over the last year.

This boy was the one that was supposed to be Law’s other half, the one who’s soul Law’s own clung to.

Something in Law’s chest thumped once, then twice, quickly. He was so shocked that it took him a split-second to even figure out what it was coursing through his veins and setting his heart asunder. _Excitement._ Because even if Law had denied it, even if Law had done his best to strangle it with his meticulous plans and bury it under his quest for revenge, there was a part of him that reached out for reckless abandon. It was the same part that made him yearn for the sea, that made him stretch a hand out to anybody willing to call him Captain no matter how dangerous they seemed. The same part that had him going, time and time again, under the needle for yet another half-dreamed, half-sketched design to be etched onto his skin.

The same part of him that allowed a smirk to snake across his face as he stood up as others fled the Auction House, his decision made.

Strawhat Luffy was a crazy, wild, recklessly strong, idiotic, loyal, and charismatic bastard. He was also Law’s pain-in-the-ass soulmate that was going to end up dead in a gutter one of these days if he continued to be wild, reckless, and stupid, quite possibly by Law’s own hand. He certainly wasn’t what Law had expected but he was what the Universe had given him and Law was very, very good at taking what the Universe through at him and using it to the best of its potential.

Law was going to help his soulmate out of this mess he’d made in the Auction House, probably with his smirk firmly in place the entire time, because Law himself was a crazy, recklessly strong, and loyal bastard and like called to like, even in the madhouse that was the Grand Line.

He was going to help him escape from the Marines because that was what soulmates did for each other.

And then he was going to slap him silly because that was what Law did to reckless fucking idiots, soulmate or not.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Soulmates AUs and I had a lot of fun writing this! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
